Telekom Austria seeks eastern European acquisitions

According to Dow Jones Newswires, the Telekom Austria Group is seeking an investment bank to help it examine potential takeover opportunities in eastern Europe. The telecoms group is said to be particularly interested in smaller acquisitions in markets where it is already active. Further, its targets are not limited to the wireless sector, but also include fixed telecoms operators and cable television providers. Local business daily Wirtschaftsblatt has suggested that Telekom could transfer its existing eastern European assets into a new holding company to pave the way for Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim, owner of America Movil (AM), to play a larger role in Telekom’s mooted acquisitive strategy. AM would own 79% of the holding company, with Telekom takiing the remaining 21%, the paper reports.

According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, the company currently operates in central and eastern Europe through the following subsidiaries: A1 Telekom Austria; MobilTel (Bulgaria); VIPnet (Croatia); Velcom (Belarus); Si.Mobil (Slovenia); Mobilkom Serbia; Mobilkom Macedonia and Mobilkom Liechtenstein.